This past Saturday my boyfriend and I went to the 100 Octane event that was held at Santana Row in San Jose. We were only there for an hour or so but we had so much fun! He is incredibly into cars, and it was great to have him show me around and which ones were his favorite. It was really crowded there, but I managed to snag a few photos of some really cool vehicles. Enjoy!

In honor of getting my hair color touched up today, I thought I would share with you some of my tips for keeping my hair color locked in and vibrant. Maintaining colored hair can be tricky and a hassle sometimes, but hopefully some of these tips will help you keep your color looking fresher longer!

About 7 months ago I decided to take the plunge and dye my hair red, and I can’t imagine going back! Since I have warmer undertones in my skin, the color I chose–I told my hairstylist to copy the color of EMMA STONE–goes just as well as my blond hair did. But you may have heard–and so did I–that maintaining red hair color is INCREDIBLY hard work. It is the fastest fading hair color there is, so upkeep is a must if you want to keep it looking vibrant. I had dreamed of becoming a redhead for a while, so I was enthusiastic about the challenge. It’s taken me a while to understand what really works and what doesn’t, but I think I’ve got the science down. Below are list of tips and tricks that I use to keep my color looking vibrant between colorings.

Tip #1: Stop washing. That’s right, you heard me: stop it. Washing your hair on a regular basis will strip it of any color you have much faster than normal. I stopped washing my hair every other day long before I colored my hair, but I must say that washing it only once or twice a week has really helped keep the red color locked in for longer.

Tip #2: Use a dry shampoo. This goes hand-in-hand with tip #1, because how else are you supposed to care for your hair for 4 to 5 days without your scalp feeling like it’s dripping with oil? Dry shampoo has become my new best friend since coloring my hair. It soaks up any oil that my hair and scalp have accumulated and makes my hair appear as though I have just washed it. It also helps add texture to my hair, which makes styling it that much easier. My favorite is THIS ONE by Batiste, which I picked up on the recommendation of CASEY HOLMES while watching one of her hair care videos.

Tip #3: When you wash, use shampoo/conditioner designed for colored hair. If you color your hair, try to pick up a shampoo and conditioner that are made for the shade that you picked. I use the Reviving Red line from Pureology on the recommendation of my hair stylist. It is sulfate free and does not strip the hair of it’s color when used. I picked mine up at ULTA.

Tip #4: Rinse in cool water. I read somewhere that rinsing your hair in cool water keeps dyed color locked in for longer amounts of time, and since red hair color fades REALLY quickly I made sure to start rinsing my hair in as cold of water as I could stand once I had it dyed. I did not want my color going ANYWHERE. It’s a bit of an unpleasant experience, because who likes a cold shower? But washing my hair in warm/hot water left it looking brassy and dull, while rinsing in cool water made it vibrant and shiny. This trick really works!

Tip #5: Use a leave-in conditioner. This is a MUST. Whenever I wash my hair, I always use a leave-in treatment immediately after. I currently use the It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In plus Keratin that I picked up from ULTA, which is by far my favorite brand. This stuff smells ah-may-zing, and the benefits are endless. It helps de-tangle and de-frizz your hair, restores hydration, adds shine, protects the natural keratin in hair, as well as shields against heat. My hair would be lost without it.

Tip #6: Keep the blow-drying to aminimum. Heat is damaging to hair and hair color, so I usually like to let my hair air dry before I do anything with it. If I’m in a rush I will usually blow dry and style my hair, but let’s be honest: I’m a lazy girl at heart, so I more often than not I tend to let my hair air dry in an updo or a braid.

Tip #7: Use a heat protectant. Always, always, always make sure to use a heat protectant before you use any heat on your hair, from either a blow-dryer or flat/curling iron. I use THIS on wet or dry hair whenever I go at my hair with a styling tool.

Tip #8: Protect your hair from the sun. As I’ve noted before, heat is the number one damage-causer to hair color (hot water, blowdrying, and now the sun). If you’re going to spend long periods of time in the sun, make sure to either use a UV protection product in your hair, or wear a hat. There’s nothing like the sun to suck the life out of your newly colored red hair.

There you have it! 8 tips to help keep your red hair vibrant for longer. I hope these tips help you if you have been struggling with keeping your hair color looking fresh. And please don’t worry if you’re having trouble with getting your red hair to stay vibrant: as I noted before red hair color is the fastest to fade, which makes it the hardest to get to stick. It took about 3 or 4 times of coloring my hair before I saw it start to fade less and less each time I washed it. Don’t lose hope my friends!

before and after of my hair color.

Let me know in the comments down below any tips you use to keep your hair color lasting longer! I would love to know what products you guys use!

The weather here in the Bay Area has been absolutely gorgeous. March is always my favorite month in the beginning of the year because of the crisp, cool mornings and the warmer day temperatures. This last weekend reached a gorgeous 87 degrees, and it only made me that much excited for warmer weather.

Due to the weather being so nice, my girlfriends and I decided to take a day trip to the sunny shores of Aptos. I had previously never been to another beach besides the Boardwalk at Santa Cruz, so I was curious to visit someplace new.

Aptos hosts several beaches for tourist enjoyment; our beach of choice was Seacliff State Beach. The sandy stretch was long, and not too crowded when we got there. We were able to pick out a spot easily to lay our towels down.

Aside from a gorgeous beach stretch, Seacliff is home to an enormous cement ship. It was designed for battle for World War I, but was completed too late for duty. The ship, the SS Palo Alto, was dropped at Seacliff as a tourist attraction, and decorated with a dance floor and heated swimming pool designed by the Cal-Nevada Company. However, after company went bankrupt, the ship was stripped and permanently closed to the public. It currently remains closed off, swamped, and sunken into the ocean.

The beach is always one of my favorite places to visit, and I’m glad I got to visit someplace new while I was at it. Experiencing new and exciting places definitely gives me feelings of wanderlust, and I can’t wait to travel to more places in the future.

Hello all! Welcome back! I hope everyone is having a wonderful Saturday. The weather here is a gorgeous 87 degrees; it’s shaping up to be a beautiful weekend.

Today’s post is a few of the things that I have loved recently. The list ranges quite a bit, from books to makeup to food to my favorite quote.

CURRENT FAVORITE BOOK: INSURGENT

This is the second book by Veronica Roth in her Divergent Series. It takes place immediately following the events of the first novel, and chronicles the efforts of Tris and Four as they try to prevent the faction of Erudite from waging war with the other four factions.

I sped through the first book in about a week, and I’m sure I’ll finish this one in no time. I love the world that Veronica Roth has created, and her characters are definitely well developed. I can’t wait to finish this book and get started on her third installment (Allegiant).

CURRENT FAVORITE TV SHOW: GILMORE GIRLS

If you haven’t seen this show yet, you need to. I rember watching this all the time when I was in high school and I absolutely love it. It was recently released on Netflix and I’ve been binge-watching it ever since.

CURRENT FAVORITE FOOD: PAMELA’S GLUTEN FREE PANCAKE MIX

This is currently my go-to pancake mix. When we first started dating my boyfriend—who follows a gluten free diet—introduced me to Pamela’s and I’ve been hooked ever since. I make pancakes at least once a day and this mix hits the spot.

CURRENT FAVORITE MAKEUP ITEM: BENEFIT GIMME BROW

This little tube has revolutionized the way I fill in my brows. Before I would use just a pencil or just a taupe colored eye-shadow and it would be so hard to find the natural shape of my brow (especially since I’m a newbie at filling in brows). Since this product is tinted I can just brush it through my brows and it gives me a great outline of where my brow arch is. I can easily follow up with the Anastasia Brow Pencil in Soft Brown. Defining my brows went from taking 15 minutes to 5. Thank you Benefit!

CURRENT FAVORITE QUOTE: “Love is like wildflowers; it’s found in the most unlikely places.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote inspired the name of my blog, something I’ve been dreaming of creating for a year or two now. I’ve always loved to write, and one day I just decided that I would do it: that I would create this blog and start doing something that I love again. I believe that life is about focusing on the little things that you love and because they make you happy, and trying new things that you may never have thought you would like. It’s these little things that turn out to be the big things that matter later..

That about wraps it up for today! I hope you all have a great weekend! Let me know in the comments down below some of the things you’ve been loving!

Today’s post is a list of 25 Random Things About Me. I’ve seen a lot of these around, and I thought this would be a fun way for you to get to know me better.

So, without further ado, here’s the list!

I am 25.

I am one quarter Pacific Islander.

I am a California native.

I’m about to graduate from college as a Sociology major.

I am left handed. When I was little I was ambidextrous, and my parents let me choose which hand I wanted to write with. I can’t write forwards with my right hand anymore, however I can write backwards with it. Although, I’m sorry to say the handwriting isn’t very neat.

I love hockey. It’s the only sport I will watch. The San Jose Sharks are my favorite team, and I will bleed teal until I die.

I don’t have a favorite color; it’s always changing. Most of the time its blue, although I also love purple, red, green, yellow, and turquoise. See what I mean?!

I used to be a musician. I can play the French Horn, piano, and flute.

I was a 2010-2011 Blue Devil (any DCI people out there?!).

I have a dimple on my left leg. That’s right, a dimple. Like the one’s people have on their faces when they smile.

I love interior decorating. If I could be doing anything just for the hell of it, I would be an Interior Decorator.

Scratch that, I would be a dessert baker. I freaking LOVE dessert and making all kinds of sweets. I usually end up eating all of what I make… But that’s the whole point, right?!

I love Disney. And Disney Princesses. And Disneyland. I can’t help it. I’m pretty sure it’s nostalgia, because everything Sociology majors learn in school completely bashes the Disney Princess culture. I should really dislike them for giving inaccurate role models to girls and furthering the cycle of patriarchy in our society. And I do. But The Little Mermaid is still my favorite. And yes, I’m very aware of the ACTUAL versions of the fairy tales, and I like them just as much as the Disney versions.

I love makeup. Sephora is my weakness.

I’m obsessed with Harry Potter. If I could be transported to any fictional book setting, it would be Hogwarts.

My favorite time of day is dusk.

I don’t have any tattoos.

I am a cat person. I also love dogs, but cats have always held a special place in my heart. My boyfriend thinks I’m going to become a cat lady in my old age, but I’m just wondering why I have to wait that long? 😉

If I could eat one food for the rest of my life it would be mac and cheese.

My second favorite food is pancakes, and I make them almost every day.

My favorite season is Autumn, followed closely by the holidays. But I love the feeling of Spring weather.

I love to read. My favorite book is Ella Enchanted (again nostalgia, and see “love of Disney and princesses” above).

I enjoy playing video games, mostly of the Final Fantasy variety. My favorite is Final Fantasy X.

I’ve never had a Christmas where it snowed where I live.

I love to be organized and I am an incredibly neat person. Except for most of the time when I’m not.

Well, that’s all! I hope you enjoyed reading this! Let me know in the comments down below if you did. And don’t forget to follow me on social media! Links are on the About page!

“Love is like wildflowers; it’s often found in the most unlikely places.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello and welcome to Like the Wildflowers!

My name is Kelsey, and a little bit of why I’m here:

— I love to write. I used to write all the time when I was in high school; however I have stopped writing for enjoyment in the past several years. College, homework, and keeping myself employed has taken up most of my time for a long time, and since I am nearing graduation I want to begin doing something that I love again.

— It’s my hope to use this blog as an outlet for myriad of things that I love and love to do. I believe that writing about what I enjoy will help me to see and experience more positive things in life.

I’m looking forward to gaining a few followers soon and continuing on with this new experience!

Ciao for now!

xo Kelsey

P.S.! You can follow me on social media! Just click the pictures on the About page! Also you can follow me on Bloglovin!